DuPont Scientists Named 2020 Heroes of Chemistry

WILMINGTON, Del., April 30, 2020

"These awards recognize the creative and dedicated work of DuPont teams across decades of innovation," said Alexa Dembek, Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer for DuPont. "We applaud our DuPont Heroes of Chemistry and their teams for their impactful contributions to industry and society."

Dr. Marty DeGroot, Dr. Bainian Qian, Dr. Mary Jo Kulp, Dr. David James, John Roberts, Harry (George) McClain and William (Bill) Budinger of DuPont Electronics & Imaging were recognized for their role in creating and optimizing a broad portfolio of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pads. CMP pad product families, such as Politex™, IC1000™, Ikonic™, Optivision™ and Visionpad™, have been key enablers in the semiconductor evolution and continue to be critically important for chip fabricators around the world.

Semiconductors produced today generally employ at least three CMP processing steps and potentially as many as 42 for the most advanced logic and memory chips. DuPont Electronics & Imaging has long been an innovator and leader in this materials space, establishing new solutions for these sophisticated processes. Semiconductor chips are pervasive in modern life, making wide-reaching technologies possible such as smartphones and other mobile devices, PCs, TVs, connected vehicles, and health and safety solutions. They also support critical infrastructures including the power grid, water systems, servers and data centers, and communication networks.

Dr. Steven Jons, Dr. Tina Arrowood, and Dr. Steve Rosenberg of DuPont Safety & Construction were recognized for leading the development and commercialization of nanofiltration products for the purification of municipal drinking water, treatment of offshore oil and gas production water, dairy production, and wastewater reuse.  Nanofiltration—a membrane liquid separation process that rejects dissolved solutes in the approximate size range of one nanometer—is a relatively new chemistry-based technology. Since their first use, nanofiltration products have had a huge impact on the safety of our drinking water, the production of the milk on our tables, and the collection of the oil that powers our lives.

DuPont's nanofiltration membranes are part of the company's FilmTec™ portfolio. Going forward, nanofiltration is poised to continue to make a global impact—being a critical part of the solutions to address water scarcity, more sustainable use of energy, and worldwide food supply shortages.